A Charles County man and woman charged with acting as contractors in St. Mary’s County without a required license agreed in court Friday to pay $26,000 in restitution in the case.

Darrell Grandstaff, 53, and Lisa M. Willoughby, 42, both listed in court documents as La Plata residents, were charged with the offense earlier this year through a Maryland Home Improvement Commission investigation, court papers state, after they received more than $140,000 upon building a garage and making other upgrades at the home of Donna and Michael Degen along Golden Beach Road without obtaining a home improvement license.

Originally charged through St. Mary’s district court, Grandstaff and Willoughby requested a jury trial last summer, moving their cases onto the October docket of the county’s circuit court. They both pleaded guilty to failing to have a home-improvement license, St. Mary’s Assistant State’s Attorney John Pleisse said at Friday’s restitution hearing.

Delaying sentencing in the case for another four or six months would allow time to set up and evaluate the pair’s payment plan, the prosecutor said. Thomas Pyles, the pair’s lawyer, said in court that the $26,000 amount was reached through “mutual agreement.”

St. Mary’s Circuit Judge Michael J. Stamm asked Grandstaff, “Do you believe this is an appropriate number?” “Yes, sir,” Grandstaff replied, adding that “given time,” the money will be paid.

Stamm told the homeowners, “If there’s any more outside of that, you’re going to proceed through the civil court.” And the judge said to Grandstaff and Willoughby, “Your sentence will depend on how you do on that payment plan.”

The work done at the home, court papers state, included a $4,925 contract to repair a patio, retaining wall and walkway; a $35,000 contract to build the free-standing garage adjacent to the main house; and a $100,254 contract to reconfigure the home’s interior, raise beams in the structure, replace its floor joists and subflooring, and install a new roof and gutters.